Top Gear 'faking' row

TOP Gear has been embroiled in another "faking" controversy after the show admitted it had set up a traffic jam and used driving instructors posing as learner drivers in a scene.

An article in London's Daily Mail says the show's creators faked a scene in which James May took a £5.6 million ($8.4 million) Ferrari California Spider for a drive in peak-hour traffic.

The paper says the show admitted it set up a scene where May tries to park his car while three learner drivers are practising reverse parking nearby.

The latest controversy comes after electric car maker Tesla attempted to sue Top Gear for setting up a scene in which a Tesla electric sports car is pushed into a garage because it has run out of charge.

Top Gear admitted the car in question had not run out of charge but a judge ruled that the segment was not "maliciously false" and had not defamed the company.

The top-rating program also courted controversy during a live tour of Australia, when it dressed Toyota MR2s up as Ferraris and did burnouts during a show at the Acer Arena.

There was also a suggestion that the program's mystery driver, the Stig, did many of the driving manoeuvres on behalf of presenters Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and May.